[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 144 (Thursday, September 22, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF DR. ROBERT L. WRIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2016

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a 
talented businessman, philanthropist, and civil rights activist, Dr. 
Robert Lee Wright, who served as Chairman of the National Museum of 
African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) Plan for Action 
Presidential Commission. Dr. Wright played an integral role in the 
development of this nation's greatest tribute to the tragic but 
triumphant story of the African-American community. The National Museum 
of African American History and Culture is a crucial patch that has 
finally and rightfully been sewn into the quilt of American history. 
Though the seams may be laden by injustice and oppression, the focal 
point is the recognition of the vital role African Americans played in 
the establishment and evolution of this nation and its culture, all of 
which would not be possible without the valuable contributions of Dr. 
Robert Wright.
  Dr. Wright's remarkable journey began in a segregated Columbus, 
Georgia sweltering with the heat of racial injustice. He was the son of 
a bricklayer and nurse. He graduated from Spencer High School in 1955, 
after which he left Georgia to escape the systemic discrimination of 
the South to pursue a degree in optometry from Ohio State University. 
However, he was not gone for long. Upon his return to Columbus to 
practice as a medical professional, Dr. Wright became active in the 
Civil Rights Movement and participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery 
March. In 1968, he was elected to the Columbus City Council and served 
until he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as Associate 
Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership 
Development. In 1985, after his time in the Reagan Administration, Dr. 
Wright created Dimensions International, a successful defense 
contracting firm.
  In 2001, the NMAAHC Plan for Action Presidential Commission was 
established, and Dr. Wright was recommended by Congressman J.C. Watts 
of Oklahoma to serve on the commission and when the commission was 
organized, the members elected him Chairman. As the Chairman, he was 
tasked by law to provide President George W. Bush and Congress with an 
implementation plan for the museum. Wasting no time in engaging this 
charge, Dr. Wright and his panel produced ``The Time Has Come,'' a 2003 
report that expressed the vision and enumerated the administrative 
details for the $540 million facility. This report led Congress to 
enact that same year the NMAAHC Act, which established the museum 
within the Smithsonian Institution. Even after this victory, the 
process often faltered as opposition to the museum forced several 
debates on funding, location, and even the need for such a museum. But 
through it all, Dr. Robert Wright and his team succeeded in bringing to 
life the Smithsonian's 19th museum right where Dr. Wright and so many 
others feel it belongs--on the National Mall.
  The National Museum of African American History and Culture will 
candidly display the brutal horrors of the international slave trade 
and its unquantifiable and lingering effects. The museum will also 
celebrate the tenacity and advancement of African Americans as they 
remained steadfast in the belief of their worth as human beings. The 
museum's juxtaposition of pain and tragedy with perseverance and 
triumph mirrors the ``Horatio Alger'' story of Dr. Robert L. Wright's 
life in achieving success in the face of adversity.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife Vivian, and the 
millions of African Americans nationwide in recognizing Dr. Robert Lee 
Wright for his immeasurable contributions to the creation of the 
National Museum of African American History and Culture. We will soon 
celebrate the grand opening of this remarkable Museum, where people 
from all walks of life can gather to remember a dark period in our 
nation's history, rejoice at how far we have come as a society, and 
reflect upon how far we have yet to go.

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